EL CERRITO -- Officers shot and critically wounded a man who was pistol-whipping a woman at a gas station Thursday night, police said.

A 911 caller reported a verbal argument between a man and a woman about 6:40 p.m. Thursday, police said. As officers headed to the scene, other callers reported that the man was beating a woman behind the Chevron gas station at San Pablo Avenue and Potrero Avenue.

When two officers arrived, they saw the man pistol-whipping a woman with a handgun. They both fired and struck the man, who was taken to a hospital.

Police did not identify the man, who they said was in critical condition early Friday morning. The officers involved in the shooting have a combined eight years of law enforcement experience, according to a police statement.

It was the second officer-involved shooting in the Bay Area in 24 hours. Around 3:30 a.m. Thursday, Walnut Creek officers shot and killed an armed 22-year-old man at an apartment complex.